The Review: It’s impossible to recreate the atmosphere of a theatrical show for DVD but this recording succeeds in many other ways. This is my third viewing of the show (twice before on the West End stage) and I still consider it to be a near-perfect musical. It’s funny, moving, gritty (lots of strong language) and very well staged. The cast on this recording are top-notch, Elliott Hanna and Ruthie Henshall shining as Billy and his dance teacher. If you can, see the stage show. But if not, this recording does a damn good job of bringing theatre to your living room.

The Review: Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant and mesmerising as Alan Turing, the maths genius who saves millions of lives in WWII with his codebreaking before being forced to undergo chemical castration because of his sexuality. The film is very well shot and acted superbly throughout, ‘Oscar’ running through it like a stick of rock.

My one reservation is that some parts, to me, came across as a little clinical, leaving me inexplicably cold. I can only put this down to the fact that his homosexuality is not delved into enough. Having said that, the moments it is hinted at are quietly devastating.

The Review: This effective Australian horror film is the story of Amelia whose husband died in a car crash on their way to the hospital, where she gave birth to Samuel, her son who’s now convinced they're being haunted by a storybook character, Mr Babadook. On the surface, this could seem very silly indeed but it is not to be taken literally. You have to ask yourself what Mr Babadook actually represents. Is he a real monster? Or is he the manifestation of Amelia’s grief and despair? This is intelligent psychological horror that makes you realise the biggest fears come from within.

The Review: Those into action films need read no further; this biopic of JMW Turner is not for you. I enjoyed it very much but can understand people saying it’s overlong. Not much happens over the 2.5 hours but it’s exquisitely shot and beautifully acted, Timothy Spall excelling.

What you are left with is a better understanding of a great artist, but at the same time he remains enigmatic. The scenery often aptly evokes Turner’s art and it has clearly been lovingly and carefully filmed. The film’s momentum is not plot but the essence of Turner which gradually seeps through the screen.

The Verdict: A masterclass in filming an artist biopic but the slow pace will turn off some filmgoers.

The Review: Far-fetched it may be, but this film is relentlessly tense stuff. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney struggle to survive in space after an aborted space mission. There is no build-up. It simply grabs you by the throat in the opening minutes and never lets go. The camera frequently alternates between inside and outside Bullock’s helmet. It effectively recreates the sense of isolation, beauty and danger you’d imagine up there.

I don’t get on with films solely comprising of special effects. Thankfully, there is a beating heart to this film and you are with Sandra Bullock every step of the way.

The Verdict: Worth all the hype? Possibly (not). Worth a watch? Definitely.

The Review: I came to this film with no preconceptions, having not read the bestselling book. The 2.5 hours were possibly the fastest I have ever spent in a cinema. David Fincher's film is disturbing, bloody and twisted. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike play, at times, frighteningly credible characters and both are mesmerising to watch.

What works so well in this film is that both characters take turns to elicit sympathy and revulsion. It is a sort of battle between the two. I shan't reveal the 'winner' here but the journey to that 'victory' is a triumphant film that thrills and shocks.

The Review: From the creators of TV’s Outnumbered, this is essentially Outnumbered on the big screen. It’s an excellent cast and there’s a sprinkling of funny moments throughout, but it often creeps too close to sentimentality.

Billy Connolly is genuinely touching in the role of a granddad close to death while David Tennant and Rosamund Pike, both excellent actors, are not given any material to stretch them.

I found the children in Outnumbered charmingly funny. Here, they irritated the holy hell out of me. If I had a pound for every child actor who just seems to read woodenly from a script…

The Verdict: Entertaining enough for a one-time watch but ultimately this is entirely forgettable.

The Review: Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, Tom Ford’s directorial debut is a super-stylish visual feast. Every shot is perfectly framed and some ooze colour and sex through the screen. It’s a triumph in film-making.

Charting the day of a lecturer (Colin Firth giving one of the performances of his career), whose male partner has died tragically, this is a tender, beautifully haunting and, at times, overwhelmingly sad portrait of a man struggling to move on.

The relationships with supporting characters are exquisitely realised and the music soundtrack is exceptionally strong, so much so that I listen to it regularly.

The Review: Based on the superb play Posh, this film charts the infamous Bullingdon Club, the exclusive student club at Oxford University which meets annually at a venue it is invariably banned from afterwards. The up and coming cast are largely excellent and succeed in portraying a grotesque bunch of unlikeable characters. They eat and drink to excess and the mood alters altogether when things take a shockingly violent turn.

Always entertaining, occasionally chilling, this film provokes thought but you don’t connect with any of the characters on an emotional level (except perhaps the pub landlord). Which is, I suppose, the point.

The Review: The film of the bestselling book is a competent thriller that boasts three good performances from Kidman, Firth and Strong. Christine’s diary, in which she records her memories, most of which are wiped clean every time she goes to sleep, is replaced here by video recordings she makes in secret.

The twists here are executed well and the hotel scenes have something of The Shining about them. Towards the end, the plot starts to go a little wild, rendering it more far-fetched than the book. It’s a decent adaptation that could have done with a less sensational last half hour.